Author Archives: Jill Belli

Last Day of Class Tomorrow!

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Wow, it’s almost our last class! Tomorrow we have our second round of presentations, and have three presenters (Justin, Phoenixx, and Mohammad). We will have a good chunk of time as well to discuss Westworld (finally!), so please do bring in your notes and ideas on the show.

We’ll also have a little end-of-the-semester celebration, and I’ll bring in some treats. Feel free to also bring in something to share with your classmates. Again, if anyone has any food allergies and/or dietary restrictions, please let me know (either comment on this post, or email me if you want to do it privately).

A friendly reminder that your Final Course Reflections are due tomorrow. Read more about them here.

If you haven’t done so already, check out my Wrapping up The Semester post 🙂

 

Wrapping Up the Semester

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We made it! We’re just about through with the course, so I’m sharing a few things to keep in mind as we wrap up this semester:

Research Project
This research project ,worth 20% of your overall course grade, is due on Tu 12/18 at the start of class (2:30pm). Refer to the Research Project page on our site for details on this assignment, how to post it on the OpenLab, and the submission link for the Dropbox files. Also, refer to our in-class writing workshops (your notes, and the class notes about them), peer review sessions the feedback from me in our conference(s) about your draft, feedback on Essay 1 (including the Strategies for Drafting and Revising Essays handout that I provided), and the Writing Resources page on our site.

Final Course Reflections
Individual Final Course Reflections, worth 15% of your final course grade, are due by the start of class (2:30pm) on Th 12/20. You will be submitting the reflection privately (only I will see it) via Dropbox, as a Microsoft Word document (correctly labeled) and you will also bring one printed copy to our last class. Refer to the Final Course Reflection page on our site for details on this assignment and the Dropbox submission link.

Expanded Office Hours
We’ve already had a number of rounds of in-class peer review, and I’ve met with each of you at least once (some of you multiple times!) outside of class. As you know, I’m more than happy to continue to discuss your research projects (and final course reflections) with you, as you work towards finalizing your final drafts. In addition to my regular office hours, I’ll also be on campus and available to meet on Tuesday, 12/11 before 2:30pm; Wednesday, 12/12 between 12:30 and 3:30pm; Thursday, 12/13 (this is a Reading Day, so classes are not held this day) between 1:00 and 4:30pm. If you are coming to see me, please email me ahead of time to let me know, so I can plan to be in my office then and reserve that time for you.

Final Assignment Grades + Final Course Grades
The deadline for professors to submit final course grades for the Fall 2018 semester is Friday, 12/28/18 at midnight. Please wait to view your course grade online through CUNYfirst (I will not be giving out final course grades via e-mail). Final grades are non-negotiable, though I am always more than happy to discuss them / your work with you at any point in person, to review the breakdown and the grades’ rationale. You can also find all of your grades in your OpenLab Gradebook on this course site. If you would like to discuss any of your grades and / or receive additional feedback on your Final Project or Final Course Reflection, e-mail me to do so (we can always also schedule an appointment to discuss your work in-person when we return to campus at the end of January, when the new semester starts up).

Thank you, & stay in touch!
Finally, it was a pleasure to work with you all this semester. I wish you the best of luck wrapping up the semester and on your final exams, and in your future endeavors at City Tech, & beyond. You all worked incredibly hard this semester, and I really appreciate your consistent effort and good cheer each week. I hope you enjoyed yourselves and learned a lot about science fiction and critical thinking / reading / writing / reflection, and that you enjoyed reading some great short stories and media. Have a wonderful winter break & happy holiday season (best of luck in 2019!), & don’t hesitate to be in touch /stop by my office in future semesters to discuss your work in this course and beyond, chat science fiction in general, or just say hi  :)

“Dystopic? Or Myopic?”

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analog cover (november-december 2018)In the most recent issue of Analog: Science Fiction and Fact (November/December 2018), the guest editorial discusses the trend towards dystopian visions in recent science fiction. Edward M. Lerner in “Dystopic? Or Myopic?” perhaps sums up his views in one word: “Ugh” (4). He goes on to assert clearly: “The prevalence of dystopian SF, I firmly believe, is a Bad Thing.” (4)

At least two comments due by W 12/5, though, as always, more are welcome! Engage with his claims in this editorial and with your classmates’ ideas, and provide textual evidence in support of your comments. Feel free to also bring in contemporary life (including movies, video games, etc.) to back up your points.

 

Research Project Individual Conferences with Professor Belli

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*Reply to this post listing, indicating which slot you want. Scheduling is first-come, first-served. Please do not request a time slot that has already been taken/requested (unless you absolutely can’t make any other slots–because you have another class or job–in which case you can ask another student–in the comments–to switch with you).

Research Project Individual Conferences with Professor Belli

  • These conferences are a time for you and me to get together one-to-one to discuss your ideas/progress on the Research Project (research, presentations) and to address any questions you may have.
  • Please bring all relevant materials with you (proposals, sources), and come prepared to discuss specifics (questions you have, etc.).
  • Please only sign up for a spot that you are 100% sure you can make (and make note of the time/date you are coming).
  • All meetings are in my office, Namm 520.
  • Each slot is 10 minutes long. Arrive a few minutes early (and be prepared to stay a few minutes late, in case we are running behind).
  • If you miss a conference or come unprepared, it will be counted as an absence and you forfeit your right to schedule future conferences (on the research project) with me.

Tuesday, 12/4

  • 3:50-4:00pm: Pedro
  • 4:00-4:10pm: Tyler
  • 4:10-4:20pm: Vishal
  • 4:20-4:30pm: Justin
  • 4:30-4:40pm
  • 4:40-4:50pm:

Thursday, 12/6

  • 3:50-4:00pm: Chris
  • 4:00-4:10pm: Stanley
  • 4:10-4:20pm: Karen
  • 4:20-4:30pm: Sheng
  • 4:30-4:40pm: Mohammad
  • 4:40-4:50pm: Sajida

What does it mean to be “human” in Westworld?

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As part of our reading of Westworld, we are considering how humanity is redefined in the world of this text. We are exploring what it means to be human, in a world where people have their non-biological, “fake,” non-living counterparts (“hosts”).

What does authenticity means in a world where everything, including emotions, memories, reveries, beings, etc. can be simulated, created by people? What defines a “human” or “humanity” in the world of Westworld? What distinguishes the real/genuine/authentic from the fake/simulated/ersatz? What is missing/lost/sacrificed (if anything) in these replicas? Is anything gained?

  • Who/what serves who/what? Who are the masters and who are the slave? Who are the superiors and the inferiors?
  • What are the relationships (colleagues, friendship, sexual, love, etc.) between different types of beings?
  • What is a real “emotion” if it can be simulated or real memories if they can be implanted?
  • What about the setting, the utopian park of the old Wild West, where the rich come to live out their fantasies at the expense of others?
  • What kinds of competing sets of values are at play?
  • What are central conflicts of the first episode?

I am also particularly interested in us tracing how, through their interaction with the “hosts,” people (the “newcomers” or the people who work on creating the hosts or Westworld itself) move from merely embodying values/norms of their society that they have have already internalized, to developing individual, (perhaps rebellious?), free-thinking understanding about the world and their places in it, and the hierarchy of beings (living and otherwise).

Think about these questions in relation to other texts we are read or ideas discussed this semester, as well as real-life advances in technology (such as those presented in this article, “Japanese professor creates uncanny, human-like robots and the exhibit website, Android: What is Human?).

[Logistics]

Make at least two comments (just hit “reply,” either to my original post or to another comment on it) by the end of class today (Tuesday, 11/20, by 3:45pm). Then go back/read through all comments and extend the conversation by making at least two more comments (of course, more are always welcome!) in response by M 11/26.

Your comment (reply) can be just a few sentences: provide the quote/citation and a quick explanation of how/why it functions in the context of some larger issue/question (or you can raise questions, complicate issues, extend discussions, analyze a character, or setting, etc. &/or discuss central conflicts/values/themes through the use of your evidence/analysis). Feel free to post multiple comments, and also to respond to others. If you’ve already discussed some of these instances in your previous blogs or in class, you should feel free to draw on that material.The goal is to have some good virtual discussions here to help you think critically about important themes/questions raised by this complex novel, and to find/analyze/synthesize various pieces of evidence in support of claim.

The goal in all cases is to provide specific examples from the text (scenes/quotes/citation from the episode) with discussion/analysis and some connection to a larger claim/argument. You must cite currently in MLA format (in-text citation).

Extra Credit Opportunity: City Tech Science Fiction Symposium

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City Tech is holding its 3rd Annual Symposium on Science Fiction on interdisciplinary, STEM, science fiction, and Frankenstein. This event is free and happening all-day (9:00am-6:00pm) on campus: all of the day’s events take place in the new Academic Complex (A105) except for the final tour of the City Tech Science Fiction Archives (this is the collection we visited twice this semester).

We’ll be holding our class that day at the Symposium, which will overlap with the Student Roundtable on Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. Everyone is required to come and take notes, as this is our regular class. Show up on time for class, in A105, at plan to stay until the roundtable is over. You should take notes during session, for discussion in class on Thursday, 11/29.

However, I also encourage you to attend other parts of the Symposium, if possible, and to share what you’ve learned with the class. If you attend a portion (or all!) of the Symposium on Tu 11/27 (other than our required class session) & blog in response by Su 12/2 you will get extra credit (yay!).

This extra credit will replace a missing blog if you missed some blogs, or it will count as extra credit if already you did all of your blogs (bonus points). Please note that, as always, there are only two grades for this extra credit blog: 100 and 0. If you attend the event and blog your responses/reflections thoughtfully and comprehensively, you will receive 100% (otherwise,  you will receive no credit). Don’t forget to take notes at the event, so you can include concrete details in your blog.

Please categorize your blog as “City Tech Science Fiction Symposium.”

People’s Choice Posts #6: ‘Westworld’

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It’s that time again! Read through your classmates’ reading response blogs on the first episode of the HBO series, Westworld, and choose your favorite post. You can choose a post for any reason, but you always must clearly articulate your rationale for choosing it (e.g., why did you find it interesting, compelling, likeable, provocative, etc.?). This rationale can refer to content, style, creativity, etc. If, after reading everyone’s posts, you strongly feel that your post is your “favorite,” you can always vote for yourself, but you need to provide a rationale for doing so.

In order to register your vote for this week’s “People’s Choice,” “leave a reply” to this post, and in your comment, provide your chosen post, an excerpt from it + rationale for choosing it. Provide the title and author of the chosen post, along with a link to the post you are citing (please provide the link in the same comment: don’t make a separate one with just the link). Citing is really important (in this case, citing your classmate!), and this is a way of giving credit to other sources and putting yourself in dialogue with them.

Comments/votes are mandatory, should be made no later than M 11/19. The person with the most votes will earn the coveted “People’s Choice” honor for this round of posts! I’m looking forward to seeing what you choose, and why.

People’s Choice Posts #5: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

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It’s that time again! Read through your classmates’ reading response blogs on the first episode of the Hulu series, The Handmaid’s Tale, and choose your favorite post. You can choose a post for any reason, but you always must clearly articulate your rationale for choosing it (e.g., why did you find it interesting, compelling, likeable, provocative, etc.?). This rationale can refer to content, style, creativity, etc. If, after reading everyone’s posts, you strongly feel that your post is your “favorite,” you can always vote for yourself, but you need to provide a rationale for doing so.

In order to register your vote for this week’s “People’s Choice,” “leave a reply” to this post, and in your comment, provide your chosen post, an excerpt from it + rationale for choosing it. Provide the title and author of the chosen post, along with a link to the post you are citing (please provide the link in the same comment: don’t make a separate one with just the link). Citing is really important (in this case, citing your classmate!), and this is a way of giving credit to other sources and putting yourself in dialogue with them.

Comments/votes are mandatory, should be made no later than M 11/19. The person with the most votes will earn the coveted “People’s Choice” honor for this round of posts! I’m looking forward to seeing what you choose, and why.

World-Building in Political Elections

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“Perhaps the crispest definition is that science fiction is a literature of ‘what if?'”
(Evans, Christopher. Writing Science Fiction. London, A & C Black, 1988.)

I know many of you are anxiously watching the midterm elections unfold today (and that many of you are voting in them as well!).  Elections for public office are steeped in both utopian and dystopian rhetoric, about the state of our communities and our country, about how our lives and world are, how they should be, how they could be. In short, these debates and these elections traffic heavily in what if? These elections and the candidates’ words and policies are, in a very real way, about world-building: they are about reality but also about imagination grounded in possibility. What will our communities, our country, and the world (not to mention our individual lives) look like if certain people are elected to serve us? What kinds of worlds do these candidates think is possible and desirable? How will they enact these visions? In whose interests?

“I define science fiction as the art of the possible. [. . .]. Science fiction, again, is the history of ideas, and they’re always ideas that work themselves out and become real and happen in the world” (Bradbury, Ray. “Ray Bradbury: The Science of Science Fiction.” By Arthur Unger. The Christian Science Monitor 13 Nov. 1980).

This is an open forum for class discussion, today on Election day, and beyond, to share your thoughts on how political rhetoric and platforms shape what is possible in our world. This is a space to consider what candidates’ visions of well-being for our communities and our country mean, what they do. Today’s elections (and the campaigning and political battles that have been accompanying them, for months now) is about “extrapolation,” a tool central to the genre of science fiction. The candidates are starting from our present circumstances and extrapolating to what might happen if we continue down our current path undeterred, or what alternatives exist, and how things might be different if we change our course. Though there is much obsession with facts, this extrapolation depends on assumptions, perspectives, and values. This extrapolation is grounded in competing needs and desires about how people should live and how societies should structure themselves (think of hierarchies, treatment of the “other,” about all the questions on the Science Fiction Framework).

Together, let’s close (and actively) read these texts of the Election (the candidates’ words, their policies, media coverage surrounding them, etc.) and critically examine what is being explicitly or implicitly stated in these visions. As always, textual evidence (with citations/links) will help to support your claims about what the candidates’ believe America does, could, and should look like one possible future; the future in which they are elected public servants of our communities and of the country where we live and work and dream, the United States of America.

Extra Credit Opportunity #2: Happy National Day on Writing!

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Saturday, October 20th is National Day on Writing

This is an opportunity to consider why you write, the role it has in your life, and perhaps even how your writing is expanding in new media composing environments (digital writing and blogging, such as your work on the OpenLab, use of social media, creation of videos, etc.) or in relation to science fiction &/or this course. You don’t have to discuss formal, professional, or academic writing: you could discuss personal writing, creative writing, txting, or anything else.

Anyone who wants to do so may blog about #whyIWrite and post for extra credit by Saturday 10/20. The post should be made “on” Saturday, to time it with the national conversation that will happen that day. If you want to write it ahead of time, that’s fine: just “schedule” the post to appear Saturday (to do so, edit the “Publish Immediately” option in the “Publish” box in the upper right, and change the date to 10/20 and choose a time to appear).

This is an optional post, and can be approached any way you feel would be most appropriate … feel to be as creative as you’d like! And feel free to include images, videos, links, etc. [anything that will help us to understand why you write and what writing means to you]

You can learn more about the National Day on Writing on NCTE’s (National Council of Teachers of English) website for the day. A primary way this day is being celebrated / organized is through the use of a hashtag: #WhyIWrite. As the website states:

“You see, people tend to think of writing in terms of pencil-and-paper assignments, but no matter who you are, writing is part of your life. It’s part of how you work, how you learn, how you remember, and how you communicate. It gives voice to who you are and enables you to give voice to the things that matter to you.

For the past 10 years, we’ve seen thousands of people share their responses and engage in activities around the theme of #WhyIWrite. Their collective voices are raising the volume on this issue.”

You can follow this live conversation unfolding on Twitter, and participate there if you want. Or you can simply browse the national conversation happening online to get inspiration).

*As you know, extra credit blogs will replace missing blogs (or count as additional credit if you’ve done all of them already). There are only two grades for these extra credit blogs (100 and 0). If you write a thoughtful #WhyIWrite post, you will receive 100% (an “A”) for the assignment. If you choose note to post (or if it is too short/not fulfilling the purposes of this task), you will receive a “0.” Categorize as “#WhyIWrite.”